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Freeride World Tour Stop #1 - Mammoth

J Dogg — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:37:15 -0500

Rating

After a difficult week with snow, wind, and poor visibility the first contest of the Freeride World Tour, the Nissan Mammoth Challenge, was finally held in California on Friday 25 January. With cloudy skies and light snowfalls, but enough visibility for riders and judges to carry out the contest, many of the biggest names in the world of ski and snowboard impressed the judges and local public with great action on fast, solid lines and huge air.

55 of the world’s best skiers and snowboarders contested in the first ever contest of the Freeride World Tour in Mammoth, California. With the massive snowfalls of the previous days, giving at least two feet (60-80 cm) of fresh snow on the face, the competitors rode fast and convincing and went for huge air with impressive cliff drops, landing in between the pine trees, cheered on by the thrilled local public at the bottom of the face.

The competition was as tough as it gets. The only chance for podium was to perform impeccable runs with no errors and perfectly executed jumps. Each rider carried out two different runs on a double face with two optional starts and many different line options, with interesting terrain and big cliff jumps. The accumulated points from both runs set the final result.

After a face inspection with binoculars at the bottom of the face, all the competing skiers and snowboarders hiked to the top of the mountain. The 16 participating women went down first alternating skiers and snowboarders, followed by 37 male riders. After the first run, the competitors took some time at the bottom of the face to exchange their emotions and feelings. While checking their second line they gave each other advice and helped their fellow riders to choose the best options.

The experienced and oldest skier on the World Tour, 34 year old Seb Michaud from France, was not sure what line to ski while checking the face through his binoculars, but apparently his long experience rewarded him as he finally had two awesome runs and ended up winning. Again this showman proved to the crowds that a good show is just as important as the choice of line, throwing off a backflip right before the finishing line. For his second run he chose an original line taking a double cliff in very steep terrain.

The Swedish wild card Henrik Windstedt impressed the judges and took second place. The Swede might not be as well known in the Freeride circles as winner Seb Michaud and third placed fellow countryman Aurélien Ducroz, but the former freestyler has a quiet reputation of being one of the world’s most all round skiers, which he definitely proved to his more well established freeride mates with fast, unexpected and nerve biting runs. Aurélien Ducroz, a solid, well known freerider, took a well earned third place ending one of his runs with a frontflip right before the finishing line to the public’s delight. The five American participating skiers put on a great show, riding very fast and dropping huge cliffs.

In the women skiers’ category the line up proved to be the best out there with a level that has improved rapidly over the last years. American Jesse Mc Millan draw a straight line from the top to the bottom, never hesitating and offering the fastest run of the day in the female group putting her on the top step of the podium. She was followed in the ranking by Caroline Meynet from France with a powerful but more classic style than third placed Marja Persson (SWE), who once again proved that she probably is the most explosive female rider at present, but had a small fall and lost some points which put her on third place.

On the snowboard side, local rider Steve Klassen had a huge fan club in the cheering public and was applauded during his entire run. He finally finished at 4^th place in a close competition just behind three re-known European snowboarders. Cyril Neri from Switzerland, who is ranked number 1 on the world ranking list, finished at third place with an impressive backflip starting his run.

His fellow countryman Alex Coudray took most points with the two most original lines of the day winning the men’s snowboard class and 10 000 USD richer in prize money. Flo Orley from Austria took second place thanks to a super fast and steady second run.

Famous snowboarder Géraldine Fasnacht from Switzerland landed her first jump in such deep powder that she had to crawl out of her hole. Besides that, the choice of her lines, her fluidity and solid runs brought her to the 1^st place, just ahead of local snowboarder Tiffany Noel on 2^nd place. French snowboarder, Bérangère Moroc, coming straight from the qualifying contest Nissan Mammoth Quest a week before, managed to take 3^rd place.

Legendary skier and mega star Glen Plake has been present in Mammoth since the qualifying contest, Nissan Mammoth Quest, last week, and was judging the skiers during the Nissan Mammoth Challenge. His fellow judge Dino Raffaud (FRA), co-organiser of the Nissan Freeride de Tignes, commented the high level of the contest: “The level on this first event of the Freeride World Tour is simply huge, it promises an incredible season in terms of suspense and show. What we saw today is a real pulse test of the high level freeride in competition, a tasty mix of pleasure and commitment…”

See the Final Mens Rankings HERE.

See the Final Womens Rankings HERE.

Next stop – Sochi / Krasnaya Polyana in Russia

The second event of the Freeride World Tour will take place in less than a week’s time on the other side of the planet, in Russia. The contest, with 44 participating riders, will take place in Krasnaya Polyana / Sochi, the host resort of the Winter Olympics 2014. Famous for its legendary heliskiing the contest will consist of two runs where the second one will be heli-lifted to one of the west Caucasus magnificent mountain ranges with the top half of the field (22 riders in total). The first possible contest day is the 31^st of January.

Post & McMillan Win at Jackson Hole

J Dogg — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 12:40:45 -0400

Rating

After an incredibly exciting day of skiing, Griffin Post of Alta, UT, and Jackson local Jess McMillan came out on top of the stacked international field as the 2nd Annual Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open concluded today on “Unskiable” and “Tower 3” at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Due to favorable weather, event organizer Mountain Sports International (MSI) was able to include a super-finals run for the top four women and top 14 men.

A tight race after the qualifying round, this morning’s hard-pack conditions were less than ideal and competitors were forced to dial-down their difficulty and harness their speed. With 34 men on today’s roster, the snow didn’t soften until the super-finals. First run stand-outs include; Bryce Newcomb’s pillow-like line and perfectly landed airs which moved him from 21st to 12th going into the super-finals; Drew Stoeckline’s 25-foot cliff-drop which he stomped, bringing him up from 17th to 6th; Adrien Coirier’s exposed line and fast run-out through moguls which pushed him from seventh to fourth; Griffin Post’s aggressive and extremely fast run which moved him from 10th to second; and Cliff Bennett’s near perfect line and technique which pushed him even further out in front of the field, sending him to the super-finals with an unprecedented five-point lead.

With the snow softening significantly in the afternoon, the super-finals were a sight to behold and competitors dialed up the difficulty factor accordingly. A few competitors revved just a little too much, crashing and opening the door for lower-seeded athletes to move up considerably in the standings. Sitting in third, Rob LaPier had a huge crash which knocked him back to eighth overall. Current Subaru US Freeskiing Series overall point’s leader Adrien Coirier had an incredible second run today launching him from fifth to second overall. Griffin Post made quick work of the top portion of the venue, skiing the gnarly, exposed rock face as if it were covered in fresh powder. Post’s run, although nearly flawless, might not have been enough to push him past current leader Cliff Bennett had Bennett not made a small mistake in his final run costing to fall to third overall.

“I had so many nerves going into this weekend and to ski to my expectations is just so satisfying,” said men’s overall champion Griffin Post. “Cliff was five points ahead going into the final run and that’s a lot to make up. I knew my line this morning scored well so I just tried to ski it harder and faster. I got a little lucky I guess when Cliff fell, but I feel I skied the best I could.”

Sitting in first position going into this morning’s run, Crystal Wright of Jackson Hole had some bad luck when she mistakenly missed her line and was forced to ski the unchallenging guts of the chute. Tied for first with Wright was Suzanne Graham of Alta/Snowbird who also played it safe this morning, sticking to a mellow line and opening the door for Jackson locals Jess McMillan and Hannah Horigan who were sitting in third and eighth respectively. The two had incredible runs which moved them up to second and fourth going into the super-finals. Hannah Whitney of Crested Butte, CO, nailed a double-drop popular with the men’s field which pushed her past some hefty competition and into first place going into the super-finals.

In the final run of the women’s competition Whitney attempted the same double-drop which had scored so well the previous run, but was unable to pull it together and crashed, costing her to slide from first position to fourth overall. Hannah Horigan’s consistent smooth style and aggressive skiing pushed her just ahead of Crystal Wright who tumbled at the bottom of her final competition run. Recent U.S. Freeskiing Nationals Champion Jess McMillan rounded out the Jackson Hole podium sweep with a very fast, hesitation-free run which won her the title of Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open women’s champion.

“It feels awesome to win at home,” said women’s champion Jess McMillan. “My whole family is here, all my friends and we had a Jackson sweep which is almost better than me winning alone.”

As always, spectators enjoyed watching freeskiing’s elite battle it out for the Tobias Lee Memorial Sickbird buckle award. The Sickbird award, named for the final Sickbird winner of 2006 who passed away in an avalanche just weeks later, is presented to the competitor with the most spirited competition run, often involving super-human talent and agility. This weekend’s Sickbird buckle was awarded to Adrien Coirier of Les Arcs, France, who was nominated for all three runs of the competition for his incredible antics.

“I wasn’t expecting to win the Sickbird this year,” said second place overall finisher and winner of the Tobias Lee Memorial Sickbird award Adrien Coirier. “It’s almost more important for me to win the buckle than to win the event. I knew Tobias and he was such a good guy and took such good care of me over here last year. I miss him on the tour. I gave him my run today.”

The North Face Young Gun Award returns in 2007, honoring outstanding new talent in competitive freeskiing. Points accumulated throughout the season will crown one lucky under-21-year-old a full sponsorship from The North Face and the honor of becoming the next Young Gun winner. This stop’s winner was Young Gun overall front runner Brady Smedsrud of Red Lodge, MT.

New in 2007, MSI will be posting same-day video broadcasts on the newly redesigned www.usfreeskiing.com featuring state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available mere hours after each day concludes.

The Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series tour wraps up in a weeks time at the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA, March 26-April 1. Past tour stops the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open at Telluride, CO, the Subaru Squaw Valley U.S.A Freeskiing Open at Squaw Valley U.S.A, CA, and the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird Ski Resort, UT.

For photos, videos, stories, schedules and more information log onto www.usfreeskiing.com

CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS

Tabke & Ducroz Tie in Snowbird!

J Dogg — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:06:20 -0400

Rating

After an extraordinarily exciting day of skiing, Drew Tabke of the U.S. and Aurelien Ducroz of France beat the stacked international men’s division and tie for first while Jess McMillan of Jackson Hole, WY, takes the women’s title as the 10th Annual Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals concluded today on North Baldy at Snowbird Ski Resort, UT.

Due to poor weather yesterday, Mountain Sports International (MSI) was unable to run the final two athletes of the day. They were run this morning (a scheduled weather day) and in addition to finishing the finals, the extra day also allowed time for a super-final run for the top three women and top 22 men.

Sitting in first position going into this morning’s run Jess McMillan solidified her lead over the women’s field with a smooth and aggressive run which included a 10-foot cliff-drop. The remaining top women who advanced to the finals were Jane Somerville of Aspen, who recently won the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, in second and Tanya Christensen of Crested Butte in third. They remained in that finish order after the super-finals.

“I went into the final run four points ahead of the field,” said overall women’s winner Jess McMillan. “I knew all I really had to do was stay on my feet to win. So I dialed it back a little bit which is not my style. I’m usually one who goes for it no matter what but I really wanted it today. I feel like I skied smart and it paid off. It feels so amazing to finally win one.”

After Friday’s first run only 7.9 points separated all 33 men who advanced, so it was almost anyone’s game to win or lose going into yesterday’s finals.

Second run stand-outs included: reigning World Tour champion Guerlain Chicherit’s fast, roller-coaster-like line which launched him from 11th to third; Nick DeVore, the only athlete competing on telemark skis, who skied so fast and furious and landed such huge airs you would think he was on alpine gear; Aurelien Ducroz’s high-speed run with gigantic, hesitation-free airs; Josh Daiek, whose fast aggressive airs and impressive back flip won him a Sickbird nomination; and Drew Tabke, last year’s North Face Young Gun winner, whose athletic, perfectly executed original line catapulted him into first place going into the super-finals.

The men’s super-finals today will go down as being one of the best in Freeskiing history. 18 of the 22 men who advanced to the super-finals were nominated for the Sickbird award for their antics. Olivier Meynet of France, in 21st place going into today, had an incredible second run, nailing each and every aspect he hit, launching him to 10th position overall. Jesse Bryan was sitting in seventh place going into the super-final, but was knocked back to 22nd when he did a somersault upon landing a double-drop.

Drew Tabke who was just .6 points ahead of Aurelien Ducroz going into the finals, skied another original line impossibly fast and nailed a huge 360 followed by a backflip. Ducroz, who was one of the unlucky athletes unable to finish yesterday, ran his first finals run first thing this morning. In second place going into the super-finals, Ducroz made a statement by skiing extremely fast into each and every aspect he attempted. His run included several 20-feet and beyond cliff-drops which he skied into with no hesitation.

“The snow was really hard first thing this morning,” said co-winner Aurelien Ducroz. “I had to do two runs today which was hard but it such an enormous pleasure to win. It feels just incredible.”

After deliberating and reviewing footage of the super-finals the judges decided that it was an absolute tie between Tabke and Ducroz. Each will receive the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals championship cup and $2,750.

“I always try to do something a little different to keep people entertained and of course to find the best snow,” said co-winner Drew Tabke. “Now I want to win again, and win it all by myself. Tying isn’t good enough for me.”

As always, spectators enjoyed watching freeskiing’s elite battle it out for the Tobias Lee Memorial Sickbird buckle award. The Sickbird award is presented to the competitor with the most spirited competition run, often involving super-human talent and agility. This week’s Sickbird buckle was awarded to Josh Daiek, whose perfect 360s and gigantic back-flips will go down as the cleanest in competition history.

“I had a pretty good feeling that I wouldn’t make the podium today,” said Sickbird buckle winner Josh Daiek. “So I just went for it and tried to entertain the crowd with 360s and back-flips. I was definitely gunning for the Sickbird award. I’ve wanted it for a long time now and I’m stoked to finally have a buckle.”

The North Face Young Gun Award returns in 2007, honoring outstanding new talent in competitive freeskiing. Points accumulated throughout the season will crown one lucky under-21-year-old a full sponsorship from The North Face and the honor of becoming the next Young Gun winner. This stop’s winner was 18-year-old Neal Valiton of Verbier, Switzerland who finished 14th overall.

New in 2007, MSI will be posting same-day video broadcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com featuring state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available mere hours after each day concludes.

The Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series continues next weekend, March 15-18, with the Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open at Jackson Hole, WY. The series wraps up at The Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA, March 27-April 1. Past tour stops include the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open at Telluride, CO, and the Subaru Squaw Valley U.S.A Freeskiing Open, at Squaw Valley U.S.A, CA.

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More at www.usfreeskiing.com